ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted a man pursuing an age discrimination lawsuit to proceed in forma pauperis, which allows him to proceed without paying a filing fee.
However, in her Jan. 2 ruling, Fleissig denied other relief sought by plaintiff Charles Pointer. She also denied his motion for appointment of counsel and denied his motion to amend his complaint.
Fleissig also found his complaint to be defective in that it names an individual defendant rather than an employer. She noted that under Title VII, individual employees are not personally liable for employment discrimination claims.
"In this case, the only named defendant is Maggie Ludwig, a human resources specialist," Fleissig wrote. "She is an individual employee, not an employer. As such, she cannot be held liable under Title VII, the ADEA or the ADA."
Fleissig ordered Pointer to show cause within 21 days why his case should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim.
Pointer filed his pro se suit last year against sole defendant Ludwig, a human resources specialist, alleging violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) after he was not hired as a police dispatcher. The ruling does not indicate the police department where he applied for the job.
Pointer alleges he was qualified for the job and that there were no non-discriminatory reasons for him not to be hired. In his suit, he seeks to have his name placed on a list of people to be hired, as well as $100,000 in compensatory damages, $100,000 in punitive damages and $100,000 for mental anguish.
According to Fleissig's order, Pointer received a right to sue letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on June 5, 2018, and he filed suit on June 29, 2018.